Tutorial: scheduling manufacturing systems with FACTOR

The basic concepts used in scheduling a production facility with the FACTOR product are examined. FACTOR is a comprehensive approach to detailed short-term scheduling which incorporates simulation technology for the evaluation of scheduling alternatives. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of the scheduling environment, but at the same time provides the flexibility to model a given production system to any required level of detail. The following topics are discussed: basic modeling constructs and their use; advanced modeling constructs; integration with existing production systems and data; and daily use of the model for scheduling. The authors provide an introduction to the modeling methodology used by FACTOR and to the concept of schedule simulation as implemented by FACTOR